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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cue — a hint
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cue — a signal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mine — for digging
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. row — a line
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — in sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cue — for pool
  22. season — of the year
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. row — a quarrel

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com